Can Someone Explain Facebook/Twitter?

[papaver]

Et voilÃ*, just made a TE'er friend on FB.

[krisl6]

Et voilÃ*, just made a TE'er friend on FB.

Wow, me too!

[Veronica]

I know I had some folks following Thom's Twitter posts as we crewed for RAAM and while I was doing my HIM.

Right now I can't run and can barely ride (a whooping 7 miles on the tandem yesterday!), so posting on Twitter about what I can do, makes me feel better. Egocentric... too bad. It's all about me anyway.

Veronica

[Flybye]

If you think that Team Estrogen is helpful and a wonderful community, would you call that egocentric as well????
Somewhere along the line, someone has said that "people who use Facebook are egocentric" and BAM, the stereotype stuck. I find that extremely unfortunate because it may have prevented people from connecting with old friends. How sad to miss out on the lives of others because of an opinion that someone voiced.
On a side note, we are all egocentric from a theoretical standpoint. When you get your family pictures back, who do you look at first? When you walk by a mirror, who do you look at first? Egocentrism is NORMAL. The problem with egocentrism is when vanity and pride and extremes slip in to the normalcy.
Facebook has been one of the most fantastic things that I have ever opened an online account for. I have found friends from elementary school. I am supporting an old friend as she undergoes chemotherapy and radiation. I have got good solid advice about how to proceed with a surgical procedure that my daughter was facing as well as follow up advice. I have been invited to social gatherings. I have seen pictures of my friends and their families that live in other states. I have learned of births and shared in grief over death. Facebook is no more egocentric than a phone call or an email to update others and receive support.
Bottom line, if people are egocentric to the extreme that it is an issue in everyday life, they will be that way on Twitter, Team Estrogen, Facebook, the telephone, etc. Everyone else who knows them expects that behavior and moves on. Drop the egocentric stereotype.
I double dare you to enjoy learning about your friends and family on Facebook.

[SadieKate]

. . . I have [snip] shared in grief over death. . . .

I double dare you to enjoy learning about your friends and family on Facebook.

Lots of good posts, but Flybye's stuck out because of the sharing in grief aspect. A friend of a friend died and I joined FB to read her beautiful posts about the friend and the friendship.

I also use it to express my outrage, cynicism and laughter with similar-minded friends about political issues and political personalities. Topics I wouldn't post on TE. Since almost all of my close friends are far away and I no longer get the "group fix", FB gives me a way to sort of carry on the same conversations just via a different method.

I also get updates from various business and organizations that I "join" so I see, for example, when trailwork or fundraisers are planned, or ski season starts. My senator and congresspersons post regularly so I feel much more connected with the legislative process.

Double dare yawl too. It was completely different that I expected.

Now, Twitter - no I haven't tried it but FB is information overload as it is.

[sfa]

I love Facebook, although I only very rarely post my own updates on it. I signed on first to get updates from a friend of mine who moved halfway across the country, got married, started a business, and had a baby. We talk every month or so, but FB lets me keep up with her like we did when she lived nearby and we weren't both so busy.

But since that initial reason for signing up, I've absolutely loved getting in regular touch with friends from high school who I had lost contact with and with my cousins all over the country who I never saw except at family reunions.

Contrary to popular belief, Facebook and Twitter are not primarily hangouts for teenagers--the largest demographic on Facebook is the 35 to 44 year old crowd. Twitter users are even older (that was a technology that was first picked up by older adults and is now trickling down to younger people). These are people who are pretty much like me--wanting to stay in touch with a large number of people I've known in the last 40-odd years in an easy and quick way. Is it quality time? Not really. But I didn't even know Mary Lee lived in Florida and that Sonja was back in Maryland and that Cynthia had a child two years ago--even getting little snippets from everyone's life is better than the nothing I was getting before!

Sarah

[ny biker]

Oh good. It's Monday, I have a headache, and now I find out I'm egocentric because I've found a good way to keep in touch with people that I don't get to see face-to-face on a regular basis.

[papaver]

I love it when you see your little nephew changing his status from 'single' to 'in a relationship'

Or when a friend finally found a new dog, or when they had a really cool holiday.

[ASammy1]

Oh good. It's Monday, I have a headache, and now I find out I'm egocentric because I've found a good way to keep in touch with people that I don't get to see face-to-face on a regular basis.

Me too!

Anyway, facebook allows me to stay in as much contact with my friends and family on my own time and terms... Egocentric? Maybe... but, it's not like a majority of us have the time to have personal phone conversations all day M-F. If someone posts something on my wall, I have the choice of when or if I respond to it.

I have friends all over the U.S. and world and let's face it... When it's convenient for me to call them, it may not be convenient for them to talk to me (time differences). With FB everyone can keep in contact when it's convenient for them! It's also nice because with all the different privacy settings, you can be as public or private as you want.

[GLC1968]

Oh good. It's Monday, I have a headache, and now I find out I'm egocentric because I've found a good way to keep in touch with people that I don't get to see face-to-face on a regular basis.

Me three.

Twitter has less of an appeal to me than Facebook, but mostly because I don't have time to be active on both sites. The BEST thing I ever did on Facebook was to learn how to hide certain people's updates. While I might love being in contact with an old friend from college - I do NOT need to know that she is thinking about having a burrito or that her dog smiled at her every step of the way. I just removed her 'updates' so that I don't have to see them. I can always go to her profile and view them on my time if I want (which I don't!).

Facebook allows me to stay in touch with the friends I have from the 4 different colleges I attended and the 10 different places I've lived...it's amazing! Plus, it's helped me build my current local circle of friends as well. Is it a replacement for real talking and real face to face interaction? No. Does it supplement it? Hell yes.